Robocop FanFiction Saga: Ep 4: Programming Part 2
by Demona's Pet
Summary: The second of a two part episode, Robocop struggles against his new directive while Lewis, aware of his deadly mission, rushes against time to stop him. Meanwhile, Xui makes his move in a bid to seize OCP while the ED209's finish their mysterious countdow


Episode Four: Programming

Written by Impfac

Edited by DragonPeaceEnvoy

Story by Impfac

Eva the Diva

Sentry22

9:16 PM

Three jittery men and a tired, wounded, and bound cop in a rickety cargo van careen down a quiet Old Detroit street doing almost 85 in a 35 zone. This is an area controlled by Rojano--it is peaceful and probably one of the most dangerous spots in the city. Even ED-209's are programmed to steer clear--they focus instead on the areas out of Rojano's grip where gang wars are actively waged.

Lewis knows she probably can't stop Robocop--it's hard to think of him as Murphy just then--by force. She has to try to reason with him somehow and stop him from his murderous mission at OCP tower.

But first, she has to get away from her abductors. She has only an hour and 45 minutes to escape and get across town to the tower.

Slowly, Lewis undoes the last knot. One strong kick, she figures, and the doors will pop open. It's just a matter of finding her moment and seizing it.

9:16 PM

For the first time in weeks, Robocop is functioning without the seizure-inducing malfunctions that have plagued him. It could not be worse. His new set of directives blinks through a green-white static haze that fills his vision every time he tries to stop himself from his illegal mission.

He must obey his directives, but how he does it is up to him. Rather than drive directly to his destination, he takes a convoluted route though the most dangerous parts of Old Detroit. Perhaps he will be attacked and his car disabled. With his new directive prohibiting him from communicating, it would be impossible for him to request a new vehicle and his mission would be a failure.

He can only hope.

9:21 PM

Johnson hits the new document button for the 9th time that night, his previous draft disappearing and a fresh slate popping up. Again he debates whom to address the memo to --To Whom It May Concern, or to only the Old Man? Is he exposing Xui to everyone or just the man that counts? Will the board, appointed by Xui personally, even care?

"To Whom It May Concern," he writes.

"It has come to my attention that the current Vice President of Security Concepts has been tied to illegal weapons deals. A private investigation, initiated personally, has revealed the Xui had assumed a new identity before his tenure at CRS. Under his previous name--"

Johnson pauses as he flips through the folder on his desk, locates the correct spelling, and types it in.

"--He illegally sold arms to countries including Iran, North Korea, and China. Clearly it is in the best interest of OCP to quickly and quietly expel 'Xui' before this problem affects the company as a whole."

--Donald Johnson

CEO, Security Concepts

Johnson stares at the memo. It is short and concise. It says everything it has to with an economy of words.

With a sigh, he erases it and starts again.

9:35 PM

The opportunity Lewis has been waiting for arrives unexpectedly.

"Shit, watch out!" One of the thugs yells. Suddenly the brakes squeal and loose objects fly toward the front of the vehicle. Lewis can't see, but a matte black for Taurus has just blown a stop sign, the occupant more concerned with his mission than his driving. Without thinking, she kicks with all the force she can. Her shoulder screams in pain as it is ground into the floor and old wounds reopen.

The doors give and swing open. Before the van has even come to a stop she is up and out. Looking over her now bloody shoulder she sees one of the amateur criminals staring at her in disbelief, momentarily frozen in shock.

As she rounds the corner into a nearby ally, she hears one of them shout, "She's getting away!"

The dark alley she has just entered has the obligatory dumpster overflowing with black garbage bags. She considers and promptly rejects the dangerous notion of hiding there -- because if she couldn't hide herself fast enough, they'd probably beat her to death.

Instead, she runs to the end of the alley and around the corner. She could hear the foot falls of the men behind her. Her shoulder and abdomen scream in pain. Blood has soaked through her bandages and has dampened her shirt. Still, she runs.

The connecting alley is longer than the first, perhaps 50 feet -- and a marathon to run when wracked with pain.

As she approaches the end her captors round the corner.

9:36 PM

Robocop grits his teeth. He has nearly collided with a cargo van heading down the airport road. Part of him wishes he had. He couldn't directly force himself to crash, but he could drive as recklessly as his programming allows. Beneath his visor, his eyes twitch.

WARNING, his HUD blinks urgently, PRODUCT VIOLATION.

He is going as fast as his computer advises is safe, but it will still take an hour and a half following the convoluted route he has set. Robocop won't arrive at OCP Tower until nearly 11 PM, the latest that his new directives allow.

9:37

"Stop, bitch!" One of the men shouts breathlessly.

Fuck off and die, Lewis thinks.

She rounds the corner to the next ally, running face first into the shoulder of a tall, 20-something leather-bound man. Her body screams in pain as she tumbles to the ground with a yelp of agony.

Without pause she scrambles to her feet. There are four of them, three white and one black, smoking cigarettes. All wear leather in one form or another.

"Crazy bitch! What's wrong with-" the one she ran into starts.

"Help me! They're after me!"

That was when the three men rounded the corner, jerking to a halt. For a moment the two groups stare at each other, unsure what to do.

"She's… gotta come with us." One of the three says nervously.

"They'll kill me!" Lewis blurts.

"Listen," The biggest of the four says, "Turn around and I won't open your skulls up, got it?"

The group exchanges glances.

"Take the bitch, then!" The leader shouts as they turn and run back the way they came.

"Thank you," Lewis gasps.

"Shit," one of the four says, looking at her bloody shirt. "We gotta get you over to OCP General."

"No, no time. Do any of you have a car?"

"Broke down last Tuesday."

"Fuck."

"Listen, we'll call-"

"No. Thank you for all your help. You probably saved my life." Lewis stands upright, breath slowing. "Where are we?" She points to the end of the ally were a car idles at a light. "What street is that?"

"West Johnson. Progress is one block up."

"Johnson and Progress, shit. OCP tower is…"

"Like, across the city. An hour and a half at least." The tallest one finishes for her.

Lewis thinks for a long moment, starring at the ground. Then her head lifts.

"There is one last thing you can do for me. I need a car. And a gun."

9:55

Joshua Raheem casts a final furtive glance over his shoulder to verify that the ED-209 hangar is indeed empty. Satisfied, he calls up ED-209's source code, the lines of programming as easily read as a child's book to his knowledgeable eye.

He has uploaded an encrypted code that was set to count down, a timer that would expire in just over an hour. He doesn't look at what that code is; he has just followed orders and uploaded it. But he has to know.

He begins his decompiling program. In just a few minutes-

With a quiet beep that made Raheem jump, the decompiler is finished. It has taken just under three seconds.

He pulls up the decompiled code. It shows the countdown code, and the final instructs all the ED-209's in the city were counting down to at that moment.

"Oh God."

10:02

A lone SUX accelerates down West Johnson, the driver eager to get out of the bad part of Old Detroit and to his upscale home.

"Great," he mutters as the light next light changes to red.

Normally he'd just blow it, but for some reason tonight he stops. It is a mistake he will regret for a long time to come.

Four huge men appear out of a nearby ally. The driver glances at them and quickly looks away. They begin crossing the street and pause in front of his car.

"Police," A woman he hasn't noticed says, making him start. She taps a badge against his window.

"Shit." He mutters. He lowers the window. The woman isn't in any uniform… and her shirt is damp. Very damp with… blood?

"I need this car, official police business."

"No fucking way lady-"

With a swift, fluid motion, she produces a large, shining handgun and points it at his head.

"I'm not asking, pal. Get out now."

"Cop my ass," He mutters as he climbs out of the car.

"That's a good citizen," One of the four men says.

Lewis seats herself in the large sedan, pulling the seat forward and adjusting the mirrors.

"Thanks guys," She said. "You ever need a favor, its Lewis, Metro North. Remember the name."

10:30 PM

Aerial images of Old Detroit, ending with OCP Tower, blend with images of celebrity, strife, disaster, and other newsworthy events.

"This is media break, you give us three minutes and we'll give you the world!"

"Welcome to media break, I'm Jess Perkins."

"And I'm Casey Wong. Our top story tonight, the Detroit police strike is no closer to resolution tonight as OCP continues to maintain its hard line negotiating position. OCP Division President Johnson."

The image in the corner grows to fill the screen. A composed, dignified Johnson weathers a barrage of questions.

"Please," he starts, "There is time for all your questions later. I merely wish to restate OCP's official position that we are only seeking to maintain the benefits that police have always received. The Police Officers' Union is trying to gouge us."

"And don't they always?" Jess says with a smile. "More after this."

The scene changes to a cartoon black and white face in a circle. It was frowning as the circle bounced along.

"Death in the family? Divorce? Terminal illness? Don't let depression rob you of another day!"

Suddenly a bottle of pills appear. The frowny face abruptly grows limbs and downs several large, friendly-looking pills, then begins to smile ecstatically.

"With Happerex, never have another unhappy day!"

The camera pans to a frowning Jess. In the corner an ED-209 was being lifted by a crane from a crumpled head at a now clogged intersection. "OCP's crime fighting efforts took another blow today as dozens of the trouble plagued ED-209's shut down unexpectedly while on duty. There has been no official explanation."

The camera cuts back to Casey.

"In other news, China has expelled American diplomats, accusing the United States of "Imperialist ambitions" in the region. Relations between the two nations, already strained over the American defense of Taiwan, are predicted to continue to deteriorate."

"Meanwhile, the President announced that the United States will continue to aid Taiwan in its war against China. While he has stated there will be no direct military intervention, he has increased material support for the besieged island nation and its allies, committing a staggering two hundred billion in aid. Under American pressure, the United Nations has granted Taiwan access to the orbital peace platform."

"Also today, Beijing was shelled by American battleships on loan to Taiwan."

"And now this."

A harried man sits in a cubical, surrounded by stacks of papers and post-it notes. Then an obese man in a suit appears.

"Where are those reports Johnson? I told you last week that I wanted-" and on and on, a deluge of abuse. The besieged man hunches over, begins to tremble. Suddenly he leaps to his feet, grabs a knife, and begins stabbing his boss over and over. The boss collapses to the floor and the employee bends over him, continuing to stab him.

Suddenly the video freezes.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you could get away with this?"

The video then shifts to an energetic man in a white lab coat. "Well, now you can! Come down to StimSim!" In the background, monitors outside long, coffin-like capsules show various videos, men sleeping with their secretaries, beating their wives, and other healthy activities.

"Come to StimSim today, and with our state of the art full body VR, your dreams will come true!"

"This has been Media Break!"

10:56 PM

Robocop's Ford Taurus screams to a halt in the basement of OCP. Movement jerky, Robocop gets out of the vehicle and starts toward the elevators. His mission is nearly at an end.

10:57

A 6000SUX blows past the parking garage station and screeches to a halt, nearly smashing into a parked, matte black police Ford Taurus. Without bothering to kill the engine, Lewis is up and out, charging for the elevators.

10:57

Robocop's vision fills with static as he pushes the elevator button.

10:58

Lewis rounds the corner to the elevators, just in time to catch Robocop's leg disappearing between closing doors.

"Murphy stop!" she screams and skids to a stop in front of the elevator and frantically presses the button, but the glass capsule is already accelerating toward the top floor of OCP Tower.

She jams the button for the second elevator. It begins to descend.

10:59:15

"You have to send the shutdown code to all ED-209's!" Raheem is screaming into the phone at Central Crime Prevention. "In sixty seconds they're not going to respond! You have to do it now or we're all dead!"

10:59:55

After what seems like an eternity, the elevator doors open to Lewis. She bursts out, running as fast as she could.

Distantly, she hears a man say, "How can I help you officer?"

"Murphy, don't!" she screams.

11:00

An ED-209 stands guarding a popular night club in Old Detroit, as it has been doing every night since the shooting last week.

Without warning, the unit shuts down, its engines spinning down loudly, its arms and torso slumping slightly. A moment later it spins up again, this time with a new directive flashing in its HUD, the same directive now flashing in every ED-209's HUD in the city:

KILL EVERYONE.

With a snarl, it opens fire on the crowd.

11:00

A three-round gunshot rings out in OCP Tower.

Lewis bursts through the doors to the office of Donald Johnson. His body is slumped over in his chair, with three bullet holes clustered over his heart. A tiny wisp of smoke floats out of the barrel of Robocop's gun.

"Murphy… oh no..."

"Anne… I'm sorry… I had no choice…"

"I saw. It was in your prime directives to do it. It's not you're fault. I know where we can find the men responsible for this. But we only have until midnight to stop them."

His leg splits open and he re-holsters his gun.

"Let's go, then."

THE ELEVATOR TO THE LOWER LEVEL OPENS, and the sounds of chaos bombard Lewis and Murphy. In the distance, an ED-209 is firing at a crowd of screaming pedestrians.

"What's going on!" Lewis gasped.

"I think who ever programmed me also programmed the ED-209's too."

"To do what?"

"To kill."

"But why? Is it Al Qaeda?"

"I don't think so. Maybe our friends at the airport will have answers. You have to drive; I could have another malfunction."

"Sure. The SUX handles great, we'll take that."

"Should I ask how you got-"

"No."

The suspension groans as Robocop gets into the passenger side. Anne throws it in reverse and spins it 180 degrees, slams it into drive, and launches. The 6000SUX flies up the exit ramp, smashes through the traffic control arm, and is airborne for a split-second before slamming into the ground in a shower of sparks.

Two ED-209s turn and begin firing. The rear window explodes as Lewis swerves between them. Holes appear in the sides of the car as she sends it screaming around a corner.

"Christ, did you see the bodies? There must have been a dozen people in the cross-walk alone!"

"Yes." Robocop agrees in a dull, muffled shock.

"I'll recognize the men, but how will we find their flight?"

"I have the feeling it will be the only flight leaving."

THE AIRPORT IS IN CHAOS. Smoke is drifting out of the shattered buildings. There are many ED-209s here and many people, and the result is a massacre.

Lewis drives over a long grass field that normally would have been guarded, through the only fence, and directly onto the tarmac.

Dozens of huge jet planes sit unmoving. One has apparently come under attack and has fallen on its side, its massive wing crumpled, smoke billowing out of its ruined engine.

Yet, one plane is moving. A small, private jet is taxiing on the runway, rapidly building speed as it prepares for take off.

Robocop produces his gun.

"The ED-209's will not fire on it."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. You have to get me close. My targeting is a little messed up."

Lewis floors the gas. The engine roars, the powerful car surging forward.

Robocop leans out the window and fires, missing widely.

Adjusting tracking… complete.

He fires again and again misses. The plane is close now, filling the windshield.

His third burst hits, with the right engine erupting into flame. The plane banks suddenly, the landing gear making contact with the ground hard and slamming the plane nose-first into the runway.

"Shit!" Lewis screams, jamming on the breaks. But they are too close. The car slams into the back of the plane, the windshield shattering and the roof crumpling.

The plane's tail lifts suddenly as it cart-wheels, landing on its roof and erupting into flames. The car again slams into it, launching off the nose of the plane like it was a ramp and landing beside the flaming wreck, both finally skidding to a rest with the car wedge upside down beneath the cabin.

For a long time, everything is still, save for the flames licking out of the cabin of the plane. Then the car groans, rocks, and Robocop emerges from the shattered rear window of the SUX. He stumbles to his feet and goes to the driver's side door.

With a tug, the entire door comes free. Robocop tosses it aside as if it weighs nothing. Gently, he reaches in and pulls Lewis free. Blood runs from a long gash across her forehead into her eyes.

Slowly her eyes come open. "Murphy… I'm a mess."

"You'll be okay."

"I think I'm bleeding… internally."

"I'll get you to the hosp-" Robocop stops suddenly.

"What…." Lewis follows his gaze.

A lone ED-209 is standing over them.

THE OLD MAN IS ASHEN AS XUI ENTERS HIS OFFICE.

"Xui, thank god! What is happening?"

Xui is smiling easily, gripping a manila folder to his side. Outside, gunfire and explosions reverberate in the distance.

"What is happening? The end of your career, that's what, Old Man."

"What? What are you-"

"You ignored my memos. You refused to admit the danger inherent in the ED-209 security situation. And now we're all paying the price."

The Old Man face darkens. "What shit is this!" He shouts, standing. "I received no memo! You know if I knew something was wrong I'd have dealt with it immediately!"

Xui continues to smile. He throws the folder on the Old Man's desk. "All the proof is right there."

The Old Man blanches. "You knew. You knew the ED-209s would do this, and you did nothing." When Xui says nothing, he continues, "And you framed members of the board so you could take power in OCP."

"I like you," Xui says. "I considered how to deal with you. I've decided to let you 'retire', and leave with dignity. The alternative would have been too… messy."

"You won't get away with this!"

"The board runs OCP. I run the board. After this disaster someone has to pay. And it won't be me. Tomorrow you resign, and a plane will be waiting at what's left of the airport."

THE ED-209 INSPECTS MURPHY AND LEWIS FOR A SMALL ETERNITY. Then its hydraulics activate, giving it several feet of height, and it continued past them.

"I don't understand," Lewis says when it has passed. "Why didn't it-"

"I think it was programmed not to attack me. I think they're all programmed like that."

"You saved my life… again."

"That's what partners are for."

"I wish…" Her eyes lose focus for a moment, causing Murphy to nearly panic. "I wish," She continues after a moment, "That things had been different."

"Lewis, don't-"

"I love you, Murphy."

And with that, she slips into unconsciousness.

"INCOMING!" SERGEANT REED SHOUTS.

The remaining officers of Metro North dive for cover behind smoldering, destroyed police cars. A lone rocket screams overhead and slams into the station, demolishing a chunk of the wall. The police re-emerge before the sound has fully faded and resume firing at the ED-209s.

Had the 209s been functioning normally, the battle would have been a short one. But they twitch, pause, occasionally shutdown without warning before rebooting. Two have collided and fallen over. Unable to get up, they eventually destroy their own legs kicking and screaming. One has apparently run out of ammo and is trotting in jerky circles. Another has simply shut down and is unable to restart. It is almost like the robots don't want to follow their new directive to kill.

It is a hopeless battle, but every minute these four Enforcement Droids spend battling the police is a minute away from their murderous rampage. Four others have already been destroyed or incapacitated.

Reed aims his assault rifle at the vulnerable grill on the nearest unit, but it jerks to the side as he pulls the trigger, the bullet flying harmlessly off its armored hide. It charges Reed, placing one foot on the hood of the bullet ridden Taurus. They are finally charging, Reed thinks. Now we'll all die. Reed fires widely, praying to hit something vital.

The ED-209 roars. The Sergeant's rifle runs out of ammo. In his panic, he pulls out his pistol and fires.

The ED-209 explodes violently. Shrapnel sings past Reed's ears.

"What the-"

Before he could finish the thought, there is another deafening explosion, then another and another. Men and women start to cheer.

Reed staggers to his feet.

An OCP-made Helix Assault Chopper hovers a block away. It dips its wing in salute and then is gone. The cavalry has finally arrived.

"AND SO," CONCLUDES THE OLD MAN, "I AM RESIGNING."

A gentle murmur of false surprise passes through the board room.

The choice he was given was simple: face financial ruin and possible legal action based on Xui's doctored-up evidence, or resign. Johnson would have stood with him, but now Johnson is dead, supposedly the work of an ED-209.

Everything he'd worked for his entire life since the war, building OCP from a small consulting firm, is now in ruins. He has nothing but his stock options to show for a lifetime of work.

But he isn't out of the game yet.

No one greets him at the airport. He walks across the tarmac alone, tie and jacket flapping in the breeze, a single briefcase his luggage. The small single engine plane reminds him distantly of the fighter he'd flown in the war. It has the odd design of having two doors, one for passengers and one up front for the pilot. He'd never seen such a thing before.

Taking his seat, he stares dully out the window as the plane took off, gaining altitude rapidly. He watches as the clouds approach, then envelope the craft. For ten minutes he stares out the window, as lost in a fog of depression as the plane was in a haze of cloud.

Then he hears a faint hissing from the cockpit. Intrigued, he goes to the front of the plane. Unlike commercial jets, this one isn't fortified. He knocks, waits, then opens it.

He is nearly sucked off his feet. The wind screams. The door is flapping in the wind. The pilot is gone. The control board is lit up with the red warning: LOW FUEL.

So, the Old Man thinks sardonically. This is how it ends. Xui wins.

"THIS IS MEDIA BREAK, YOU GIVE US THREE MINUTES AND WE'LL GIVE YOU THE WORLD!"

"Welcome to media break, I'm Jess Perkins."

"And I'm Casey Wong."

"Tonight, Detroit and Delta City are calm as the military confirms the last of the ED-209s have been destroyed. Casualties from what is now being viewed as an Al Qaeda attack are estimated to be in the thousands, surpassing 9-11 and the destruction of the Empire State Building."

Xui appears onscreen. "Citizens of Detroit, we have suffered a horrendous tragedy. Terrorists have again struck, sabotaging the safe and effective ED-209s and turning our streets into war zones. OCP has already pledge nearly 50 million dollars in relief and aid to the families struck by this tragedy, just the start of our donations. Please join us. Donate today." A 1-800 number appears on the bottom of the screen, along with a note that 64 of donations would be used for "administrative costs."

"Alleged terrorist operative Joshua Raheem is in custody today. A former OCP employee, he worked directly with the ED-209s and is accused of uploading the code to strike into the units."

The video shifts to a Middle Eastern man, identified as Raheem, being dragged to a waiting police car.

"I'm being framed! I don't have any affiliation with Al Qaeda! I tried to stop them!"

The camera cuts back to Casey.

"Today, a nation mourns. The confirmed death toll from the ED-209 strike stands at 2,500 and is expected to rise."

"In other news, the 22 American servicemen are dead tonight in the Amazon after a rebel rocket attack downed a Hercules transport."

"Also, the CEO of OCP has resigned, leaving Vice President of Security Concepts Xui in charge of the embattled company."

"In a late breaking development, it has been reported that a plane carrying the former CEO is crashed. All are believed to have been killed."

"This has been media break!"

THE HOSPITAL IS FINALLY QUIETING DOWN TO ITS NORMAL DEAFENING CLAMOR.

Robocop stands next to the bedside of Lewis. She nearly died, the MD in charge had says, and certainly would have been lost in another ten minutes. The blood loss was massive and had required several operations to close her internal wounds again. Robocop didn't care. All he wants to know was would she be all right? The consensus seems to be yes, she would.

He is left to ponder what she'd said.

"Murphy, I love you."

Is it just the delirium of the blood loss and shock talking? Or does she really… it is too much to imagine. He takes her smaller hand in his. Whatever happens, he'd stay here until she is awake again. Because he knows, deep inside, that he loves her too.

The End

Of episode four


End file.
